Association Leadership - May/June 2008 - (Page 39)

in focus: Austin Austin on the cutting edge Hotels, technology and environmental awareness make city a hot commodity National Geographic Adventure lists Austin as TexasÕ No. 1 Adventure Town. Travel + Leisure names Austin among the countryÕs top Þve cities for people, nightlife, food, underground arts, affordability and environmental awareness. Fast Company lauds the Texas capital as one of the nationÕs hottest startup hubs. With several hotel projects under way, a booming technology industry and a leading commitment to environmental preservation, Austin stands on the cutting edge for meetings and events. Centrally located, Austin is a gateway to the Texas Hill Country, revered for its rolling landscapes, sparkling lakes and Þelds of wildßowers. But natural beauty is not the regionÕs only fortŽ Ð these hills are also home to many technology companies, including computer giant Dell. Since Austin has become one of the nationÕs centers of high-tech activity, guests can expect the latest innovations to support meetings and exhibits. The Austin Convention Center boasts some 900,000 square feet of meeting and event space with state-of-the-art audio/visual amenities and internet connectivity at work. Show production, audience response and Web access are accomplished with ease and speed. With an expansive wireless internet network, the center can accommodate up to 7,000 users at once. But attendees neednÕt restrict internet usage to the convention center. In May 2006, downtown went wireless with a public network accessible from central coffee shops, parks, museums and restaurants. Attendees can easily keep up with business Ð or Þnd the best way to escape for the afternoon. In addition to the convention center, the Lester E. Palmer Events Center sits alongside Lady Bird Lake and offers 131,000 square feet of multi-use event space. It features striking glass architecture with the casual feeling of a park pavilion overlooking the downtown skyline and bordering Town Lake Park. The Palmer Events Center houses two combinable exhibition halls (available with riser seating and a concert stage), Þve meeting rooms and a spacious lobby for pre-event functions. It is located beside the soon-to-open Long Center for Performing Arts, AustinÕs newest cultural landmark and large-scale event venue. As the centerpiece of a 54-acre park on the shores of Lady Bird Lake, this world-class facility provides a permanent, acoustically engineered performance space for Austin Lyric Opera, Ballet Austin and Austin Symphony. The center hosts touring Broadway shows and big-name concerts, as well as performances by independent theatrical companies. Spaces available for special events include the sprawling stage and expansive balcony overlooking the Austin skyline, among others. Some 5,500 downtown hotel rooms allow convenient access to these main meeting facilities and major attractions, and several new hotels are on the horizon. Hixon Properties recently announced plans to construct a 300-room Westin Hotel in AustinÕs popular Warehouse District. The project will also include 15,000 square feet of meeting space, a restaurant, an outdoor pool deck and a spa. A W Hotel anchors a mixed-use project that also contains new studios for PBSÕ Austin City Limits, a nightclub co-owned by Willie Nelson and 50,000 square feet of street-level retail. A 21C Museum Hotel has also been announced, and a Marriott hotel project is slated to add 1,000 rooms to the downtown hotel package, as well as 85,000 square feet of meeting space. All of this is within walking distance of dining and entertainment, including AustinÕs famed Sixth Street, the Warehouse District and the 2nd Street District, the cityÕs newest pedestrian shopping center. The walkable layout of the city invites convention attendees to step out of the convention center and into any one of the cityÕs nearly 200 live music venues, which feature blues, rock, country, Tejano and more. Discover Austin at www.austintexas. org. ◆ Austin Convention Center Dell Hall at the Long Center for the Performing Arts May/June 2008 | Association LEADERSHIP 39 http://www.austintexas.org http://www.austintexas.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - May/June 2008

Association Leadership - May/June 2008 Contents President’s Column Homepage 60-Second Solutions Cover Feature: Associations As a Profession Positivity: Key to Retaining Young Talent Perspectives Association Case Study TSAE Annual Conference TSAE's Newest CAEs New Members Community Spotlight Grand Membership Campaign Committee Thank-yous Austin Dallas/Fort Worth Index to Advertisers Advertiser.com The Lighter Side of Associations- New Feature

Association Leadership - May/June 2008

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